


Fishing in the Dark

by RexWritesThingsSometimes



Category: Xafrin DND
Genre: Blood Hunter, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Dragonborn (D&D), Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, F/M, Firbolgs, Ghostslayer, High Fantasy, Ki-rin, Spice, Valentine's Day, Warlock - Freeform, cleric - Freeform, non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:55:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22822141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexWritesThingsSometimes/pseuds/RexWritesThingsSometimes
Summary: [Private RP from the non-cannon Valentine's masquerade event] Fealee and Zevryn ditch the masquerade. Fealee confesses her worries, Zevryn comforts her, they go catch some frogs. And it all goes down hill from there.
Relationships: Zevyrn/Fealee, chupacabra - Relationship, cryptid - Relationship
Kudos: 1





	Fishing in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> This was from a private RP that happened during XafrinDnD's Valentine's Day Masquerade Event. The event is considered non-canon, but I assure you, these two's feelings are real. ;) It swtiches POV rapidly for this reason, though it has been edited to flow better.

Fealee had escape the ball room for just a minute. She could feel the cool night air hit her hot cheeks. It seemed that the drink in the goblet had started to take affect. She could still hear the chatter and music coming from inside. Not looking back, she began to move farther way from the noisy ball room.

Once farther away from the noise she took a look around her. It looked like the place that they were having the party had a small garden just outside. Finding a small bench, she took a seat and started to take off her shoes. She was not use to wearing such fancy attire. She set her shoes beside her and dug her toes into the soft cool grass and earth. A very familiar sensation she was used to. She let out a little content and relieved sigh as she enjoyed the night air and tried to drown out the white noise that was the ball room.

Zevryn hadn't dared enter the building yet. He had been convinced to bathe, and he had been convinced to dress up - but as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. He found a garden around the building and did his best to make himself comfortable there. He turned his mask over in his hands; it suited him, he couldn't deny that - shaped like the top part of a skull, with tall horns that arched backwards. Simple, but unsettling.

He saw movement from the corner of his eye. He glanced upwards. Someone tall, dressed in flowing white, with long pale hair drifted gracefully across the grass. His brow furrowed. A ghost? No. He blinked to clear his vision, and not even a moment later he realized it was a certain Firbolg. He considered calling out to her, but instead, he took a moment to admire her. He hadn't seen the outfit she had chosen for the masquerade yet; this was his first exposure to it. He drank the vision in. The long, flowing gown with soft layers suited her so, so well. It was gentle, elegant, soft, beautiful; aye, it matched her wonderfully.

He stared a few moments longer and watched as she sat and pulled her shoes off. He fought back the little chuckle that threatened to give him away. He felt a fluttering within him the longer he sat and watched her. Part of him wanted to stay right here and just enjoy the view, but more than that, he couldn't bear to leave her alone in the darkness of the evening.

He rose, hung the mask from his belt, and crossed the lawn towards her. He moved a little stiffly in the close-fitting, double-breasted jacket. The light shoulder cloak fluttered beside him as he walked. He shoved his hands into his pockets awkwardly as he approached. He felt more nervous the nearer he drew. This was the first time he was facing her wearing something other than dirty, smelly rags; he was suddenly quite self-conscious.

Fealee had been in her own head. She had reached up and gently removed her golden mask. She held the thin metal mask in her hands and just looked at it. It suited her, a mask of elegance that hide away a young girl struggling with her own thoughts.

The needs of the group came before herself, but was that really fair? Was it really okay for her to put what she wanted last so often. Be pleasant and kind to everyone else and forget about her own needs.

She gently placed the mask in her lap as she closed her eyes blocking out the noise coming from the party happening not far away from her and focusing in on the gentle sounds of the nature around her. Taking in the gentle sounds of the wind rustling the trees, the water in a pond ripple and move, the gentle noises of the wild life around her come to life around her.

He stopped a few paces away and realized her eyes were closed. He didn't want to startle her, so softly, he rumbled, "Out getting some air?" Ah, what a stupid question. Of course she was, idiot. He nervously adjusted the well-fitted jacket and strode over and settled down beside her on the bench. "I... haven't even gone inside yet. Not quite my thing." His voice was still gentle; he didn't want to break the relaxing atmosphere of the park or jar her out of her state of peace.

"It... got too stuffy and painful to watch in there..." she said softly. Opening her bright blue eyes to look over at him. "That, and I drank something way too quickly," she said honestly. Before turning her gaze back out to the scenery around them.

"Watching people put on fake smiles and play mind games is frustrating and painful," she said as she leaned back on her hands on the bench turning her gaze up at the sky. "Nature is honest and doesn't lie unless it is to feed itself or for protection. But it wears it colors out for everyone to see not hiding them behind a kind smile or a lying gaze." She sighed. "Sorry....I think the drink is getting to me," she apologized.

He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his legs, and listened intently as she spoke. He offered her a gentle little smile. "Don't apologize. It sounds like I would hate it in there, too."

He looked her over. He idly ran his tongue over his sharp teeth in thought. "Why don't we go find somewhere quieter? Somewhere better. I think there's a big park near by." He stands, and offers a hand out to help her stand, too. "Honestly, anywhere's better than here."

Giving a soft smile she took his hand and stood up. But once she stood she looped her arm through his and held her shoes in her other hand as the walked. Laying her head on his shoulder.

"You know, I never thought to ask but... don't you find it hard keeping track of more then one partner?" she asked kindly. She had been wondering how he was able to keep them all happy since he had to spread himself so thin. Sometimes she felt like she gave zevryn a lot more attention than she did Cosima. It made her feel horrible when she did.

He happily let her take his arm and lean on him as they walked. He kept his pace steady and slow; while he couldn't wait to get to the park, he wanted to enjoy the walk with her as well, so he took his time. He hummed in thought at her question. "Sometimes, it can be hard. Especially when more than one person is going through something, and might need extra attention. That can make me feel torn, so I try to make sure I'm giving my time to anyone who needs it. ...But mostly, since we're all traveling in a group, it's pretty easy to spend time with any of you whenever. I've just been rolling with it, I guess." He hummed again for a moment. "Sometimes, though, when I feel like I miss you I come and seek you out." While his other statements had been general, that last sentence was very specifically directed at her.

He realized she was probably just asking because she's still navigating this type of relationship, but part of him worried that maybe she thought she wasn't getting enough time with him. He wanted to try to reassure her, but he wanted to do so honestly. So he did his best to relay honest information.

"This... is still all new to me. Some times I feel neglectful of you both. It's hard to give you both my attention equally. More so when my head is filled with troubling thoughts." She said softly, "I don't want the relationship I have with you both to change but I feel deep inside that I have done something that will effect you both greatly."

She felt a little guilty. They were both her soft place to land but her foolishness and passion, she felt had led her to a place that she could not escape from easily. At lest that is what she felt like the dreams meant to her.

He reached his free hand over and laid it over the hand she had on his arm. He offered her a small smile. "You're doing wonderfully, for what it's worth. If I, or Cosima, ever felt we needed more from you, we would let you know." He sighed softly. "That's part of communicating. You can't possibly spend all your time with every partner, and that's okay. It's hard to do that even with one partner. You need free time to yourself, everybody does. Just take the days one at a time and enjoy the company of whoever you're with in the moment." He hoped his words made sense. Sometimes it was hard voicing his thoughts, let alone in common, which wasn't his first language.

Now that he had that out of the way, he focused on the more troublesome part of what she had said. He gave her hand a little squeeze before dropping his arm back down to his side, allowing her to remain on his arm with more freedom of movement for her. "What is it that's troubling you?" he asked softly. He looked up from her now, and saw some tall trees looming ahead. They were nearing the park he had found earlier.

Fealee took a deep breath in. She had been meaning to talk to him about the dream for a while... but time never seemed right. He was always panicky and on edge. He didn't seem so now that they were both out in the open under the sky.

"I have... been having the same dream for the past few weeks." She spoke softly and slowly. Trying g to sort out her own thoughts. "I awaken laying on the ground... in a bright spot in a forest of trees. As I look through the green of the forest it's all dark. No light is coming through the branches. It's as dark as night and full of thorns and brambles. As I am trying to look for a way out or another source of sunlight...." she tightened her grip slightly on his arm and wrinkles her brow in worry "I see the bright gold of the ki-rin off in the distance, it has it's back to me and is walking with out a problem through the dark and thorny forest. I suddenly get over come with this need to catch up to the creature and take off running after it. I'm bare foot so with ever step I take I can feel the thorns branches and brambles scratch up and bloody my feet. But... I dont care about myself. I just want to find out why this ki-rin need me. So I continue to run and the moment I get close enough to touch it... I fall into a large dark pit. I continue to fall for some time and just as I hit the bottom I... feel my neck break....then I wake up," she said gravely. She could feel her fingers tremble.

"It feels so real, when I wake up... I can feel the soreness in my feet from them bleeding and my head throbs," she whispers, her voice shaking. "Not only that the scales have started to creep down more over my body. I have been looking into anything that I can find to figure out what it wants from me but I keep coming up with nothing."

Zevryn listens to her speak as they enter the park. His brow furrows as she describes her vivid dreams, and his face darkens. Once they're under the cover of some low-hanging willow branches, he pulls her into a tight hug. The sounds of the masquerade have all but vanished now, replaced instead by a gentle choir of crickets and the occasional thrum of a bullfrog. He can only imagine the pain she's been in, night after night. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" was the first thing he thinks to ask. He doesn't loosen his grip on her, not yet. "I... I don't know a lot about ki-rins, or even patrons. But I think the ki-rin is trying to tell you something. I wonder if something is wrong." He slowly eases his grip and loosens the hug. He intertwines his hand with hers.

"Have you told Cosima about it? She might be able to help you figure out what it means." She was definitely much better at this stuff than he was. "But... whatever it is, I'm here for you. Okay?" His tone was so serious it was nearly a growl. He rested his free hand on her cheek, ready to wipe away any tears that might fall. He had felt her trembling. It shook him to his core. He wanted to help her, but had no idea what to do for something like this. So he did all he could do - offer comfort.

His comfort was welcome. At the mention of telling this to Cosima she gave her head a swift shake. "No, she has enough on her plate right now. I don't want to burden you all with this," she said almost pleadingly. She didn't want to be a burden. They all had enough on their plate with this whole city being weird.

"We... we should figure out what is... wrong with this place first. My problem is the least of what is going on here." She said softly hiding her face in the crook of his neck as she brings her shaking hands up and loosely wraps them around him. "If... if the dream changes... I'll tell you..." she wasn't ready to tell Cosima just yet. Cosima was a very passionate person and she didn't want to bother her with her toxic thoughts and fears just yet. She was a bright flame and she was so scared that she would snuff her out.

He sighed, resigned, and accepted her returned hug. He wouldn't mention it to Cosima himself, it wasn't his place. And it was fine if she didn't want to tell her. But something bothered him about what she just said. He gently pulled away from the embrace and placed his hands on either side of her face. His green eyes pierced into hers. "You don't have to tell Cosima if you aren't ready to. But please, please don't ever think your problems are a burden."

He gently kissed her forehead then returned to staring into her eyes. "Fealee, we're here for you. Imagine if either of us were having such dreams. You'd want to help us, right? So let us try to help you." He gently brushed his thumbs against her cheeks before dropping his hands down around her and pulling her close again. "I'm glad you told me. I don't know how to help, but I want to, and I'll do whatever I need to. It isn't right to leave you to suffer while we tend to everything else. You're just as important as all the people here. No...." he pulls away again, and gently cups her chin. "To me, you're more important than the people here. And you can't help anyone if you're falling apart yourself."

He leaned in and closed his eyes. He gave her the gentlest of kisses. "I'm here for you. Never forget that."

Fealee gave him a gentle kiss in turn. She knew at some point she would need to tell the rest what was going on. But ...right now just didn't feel like the right time. "Ok... I wont forget." She said with a small sigh.

"Good." He said, and he gave her a sad, little, crooked smile. "Thank you for telling me, Fealee. I'm sorry I didn't notice anything was wrong sooner." A bullfrog sounded again, and it was loud enough that it distracted him. He turned his head to try to peer through the darkness. "I think there must be a pond here somewhere."

He looked back to her and smiled. "Want to go see if we can find it?"

She smiled and gave him a nod. It was a good distraction and he was helping her in his own way and she was grateful for that. "Sure, let's go find it."

He took her hand and walked into the dark park with her. The sound of the frogs got louder, and after scooting around some bushes, the pond came into view. It was a sizable fish pond; nothing massive, but large enough one could attempt to skip a rock across it. The far end was bordered with tall reeds and cat tails. The shiny black surface of the water was dotted with lillypads and other aquatic plants. The bullfrog sounded again and Zevryn smiled. He looked to Fealee with an almost child-like glee in his eyes. "Want to see if we can find those frogs?"

She let out a giggle. She dropped her shoes off to the side on the ground. She let go of his hand and gathered up her skirt and tried to tie it up at her hip. Getting frustrated with it. It was going to be hard to look for the frog with her puffy skirt as is was.

Reaching behind her she started searching for the strings holding the bodice of the dress up on her person so she could loosen it and get the dress off so she could help him look for the frogs.

He pulled off his own shiny new boots. He dropped the shoulder cape off, and unbuttoned a couple of the buttons on the front of his jacket. He already started feeling more like himself. He rolled up his sleeves. He saw her struggling with the skirts and stepped closer. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"Help me get this silly thing off," she said with a small huff, feeling frustrated. She turned around for him to see the back of her bodice.

"Ah, sure," he rumbled. He fumbled with the string a little but finally worked it free enough he could begin loosening it. His nearness to her and the fact he was, more or less, helping her undress somewhat caused a strange sort of tension and warmth in his stomach. He tried to keep focused on the technical details of the task at hand. After what felt like forever, he managed to loosen it enough that she would have no problem breaking free.

She took in a deep breath and let out a happy sigh. It felt freeing to finally have that dress off. As the dress pooled around her legs and she stepped out of it, The light of the moon glinting off of the new set of gold scales that had begun to creep their way down from her shoulder and across back before being hidden once again by her undergarments. Not really caring about her hair, she took off into a full sprint at the pond and took a dive in.

He took in the sight of her scales. She wasn't joking; they had spread. He slowly reached out, as if he were about to gently touch them, but before he could make contact she had taken off running and disappeared into the water. He stood in confusion for a moment before he began laughing. It was a deep, throaty noise, fitting for his draconic nature. Yes, it seemed coming to the park had been a brilliant idea. He took long strides over to the water's edge and silently waded in, uncaring about his new pants getting wet and muddy.

If being noisy and fast was her approach to catching frogs, well, he was probably going to catch a lot more frogs than she was. He chuckled at the very thought of it. And then, his chuckle grew into a laugh as he finally began to process the sheer ridiculousness of what they were doing. Fancy clothes, in a park late in the night, in the middle of the lost city, with a woman he loves, diving for frogs. Weeks ago, if someone told him he'd be doing this now, he'd think they were crazy.

When Fealee poked her head up above the water from her dive in, it was a sight to see. Her hair hung in front of her face and eyes as pooling around her on the waters surface like golden ink.

She had a child-like smile on her lips.

He watched her rise a bit out of the water and felt a fluttering within him. With the moonlight coming down and giving her pale skin and hair a sort of soft glow, she looked so unearthly beautiful. Going frog catching was a very, very good decision. A little grin flickered onto his face. "I thought we were catching frogs, not fish," he teased.

"Hmmm easy to catch them when you are in the water with them and can talk to them," she joked back. After all that was how she got Xander in the first place. She grew up talking with trees and animal since she was young and they always seemed to understand what she was saying.

Zevryn, who knew very little about firbolgs, raised a brow. "What, you a druid now, too?" he chuckled. He adjusted his rolled up sleeve and went about his mission to find a frog. The frogs were quiet now that they had disturbed them, but he knew they still had to be here. He waded through the shallow part of the pond. The mud felt wonderful between his toes - it reminded him of home. For the first time in a long time he felt comfortable; complacent.

He spotted a frog floating amidst some duckweed. He approached ever so slowly, but veered off to the side - the frog was likely to bolt if he headed straight for it. He took his time. He eventually got close enough that he suddenly reached out to nab it. He locked his fingers around it and drew it quickly out of the water. He caged both hands around it, so it was contained, but without him squeezing or putting any pressure on the little thing.

"Aha! Got one," he rumbled triumphantly.

Fealee just kinda floated around in the water. Every now and then she would see a frog and talk with it. It would croak at her and then swim around her or sit on her head.

She just scooted around slowly in the water a small trail of frogs behind her.

Zevryn was systematically catching and releasing frogs. Every time he wrangled one, he would mutter something in draconic, and then promptly let them go. The short phrases he said were different every time. He looked up at one point to see a frog on Fealee's head, and several different types of frogs following behind her.

He blinked in surprise, and then began to laugh. "I think you might be better at this than I am," he called over to her. It was quite the sight to behold.

"They just wanted to play that all!" She called back. A small symphony of croaks called out after her. As she moved to swim closer to where he was.

"Talking with nature and animals has been something I was able to do since I was little. They seem to under what I was saying pretty well."

He stopped his hunt and carefully grasped a little green frog as she drew near. He could've sworn some of the frogs following her happily were ones he had already caught and released. Traitors, he laughed inwardly.

He held out the frog towards Fealee. "I've been naming them. I named this one." He then said a harsh-sounding word in draconic. His brow furrowed. "It's a pun that doesn't translate to common very well. But it's a clever name." He nodded, and opened his hands, and the amphibian sprung free and disappeared into the water with a little ploop.

Fealee let out a giggle as she heard him growl. Sometimes she wished that she could understand draconic. It would make her life so much easier trying to figure out what he meant.

"I really need to learn draconic," she said simply as she held her hand out to him for help getting out of the water.

He made sure his feet had a good footing in the muck as he reached his hands out to her. With a firm grasp, he helped her up steadily. "I could start teaching you some time. The form of the language is simple, but the words can sometimes be complex." He smiled. "Cosima can help, too. She can teach you the alphabet, and how to spell things. I'm not much good for that part," he said with a crooked smile and a little shrug.

"Hmmm maybe in the future. I'll keep it in mind," she said as she stood up out of the water. Small amounts of algae and moss clung to her skin and under garments. If she wasn't clearly breathing and talking, she might back been mistaken for the undead.

"Do you.... mind loosing this for me. I should probably get our of these wet clothes as soon as I can. No need to get sick," she said simply as she turned her back to him. Giving him access to the strings of her corset, so she could take it and her other wet garments off before getting back into her ball gown. She should probably drop her wet clothes of at the inn before she returned to the...party. Even though she didn't really want to.

He fought an amused grin as she left the water. Her beauty was still ethereal, but covered in duckweed and algae he could have sworn she looked like something he'd find in the Midmoon swamp. All these thoughts were pushed from his mind when she turned and asked him the simple favour.

Simple, but oh, so complex. Something stirred within him and he did his best to quell the thoughts that threatened to veer his mind down an inappropriate road. He fell back to idle banter as he loosened her corset strings to try to keep his mind on task. "Aye, I really don't want you to get sick again."

"Hmmm yes I would hate to make you worry more about me then you already do," she joked back. He did care a lot for her and she appreciated it. Once she felt the corset loosen around her, she wrapped an arm around her to hold it close to her body before raising a finger up and making a little circle with it asking him to turn around and face his back to her for a moment

"It shouldn't take long... promise," she said softly. Trying to make him feel less uncomfortable.

He nodded and readily complied. She knew him well enough to know he was definitely embarrassed, and therefore, she wouldn't have to worry about him sneaking a peek. Rather, he decided to keep a sharp eye on the park around them to make sure no one else came wandering by.

"Ah... I really like that dress, by the way. You... you look lovely tonight." He said while he was turned away.

"Thank you. I have never owned anything so nice before," she said back as she started to remove the wet clothes. She looked over her her body as she moved to step back into her dress. The scales had started creeping move over her skin. Not only did they creep down her back they had started moving and making their way over her chest and sides. She frowned as she moved and stepped back into her other dress and brought it up to hide the scales.

"Zevryn... you can turn around. I need help tightening this back up."

"This is my first time in fancy clothes, too," he admitted gently as he turned back around.

He looked at the back of her dress and wracked his brain to try to remember how it has been laced up. He tried his best to replicate what he had undone. It was hard for him to keep his hands steady as he worked so close to her warm, damp skin. He managed. It didn't look as even and well put together as it was before, but it would hold just fine. He stepped back. "There."

He moved away to collect his own boots. He carried them in one hand, and offered his arm out to her. "The night is young, as the phrase in common goes. What would you like to do?"

Fealee gathered her wet clothes and shoes in her hands before taking his arm with her other. "How about...we just walk for a while. I don't really plan on returning to the party very much."

"Sure," he said with a soft rumble. "We can go drop stuff off at the inn, if you want. Can I help you carry anything?"

She gave a small shake of her head. "No, I have it for now. But it would be nice to put it back in the room." she said.

"Alright. Let's head to the inn." He gently led her away through the park. It was almost a shame to leave it behind, it was the first escape into something resembling nature they've had in weeks (months? He had suspicions about the passage of time in the catacombs, but no proof).

It was nice to walk with him like this. "How has been sleeping under a roof? I haven't really got to ask you how you have been handling everything."

"Ah, well, I... I've been sleeping in a park near by the inn," he admitted softly. "I'm still adjusting to the city. I'm getting more used to the crowds, sort of. I'm getting better at ignoring them, I guess. But... sleeping inside is still difficult. The catacombs were too stifling. I sleep better out in the open."

"How about you?" he asked. "How are you handling the city?"

"Everything feels so big and different. I'm not use to so many people crowded Into such a vast city," she said honestly as they walked. "Sleeping on a bench can't be that comfortable though."

"Nah, I've been managing to find soft grassy patches," he said. He slipped his arm free from hers so he could instead hold her hand. "But, I agree. I've never seen so many people in once place at once."

She gives just a sad soft smile before leaning over and kissing his cheek. "Well, I don't feel right about sleeping in comfort while you are out here roughing it," she said softly as she gave his hand a little squeeze.

He hummed in thought. "Well, maybe I'll try to sleep in the inn tonight. It's probably safer to stay with the party." He also didn't want her to worry about him; if she was making efforts to keep him from worrying about her, it was only fair if he returned the favour.

They both walked in silence for a while. She finally spoke. "I have only seen this many people once in my life and that was when the professors wanted to dig up and explore ancient celestial ruins while I was living in the library in the south."

He raised a brow in curiosity. "That sounds like one hell of a time. Did you get to help?" He wondered what it would be like to discover ancient ruins, and to be one f the first people to explore them in centuries. It almost made a shiver run down his spine. Now that sounded like an adventure.

"It was very interesting. Though I didn't get to do much exploring. The professors wouldn't allow me to go around touching everything. I had a very bad habit of wanting to look at everything up close and touch them. I got scolded often for it," she explained. She enjoyed learning, so much so that it would often get her into trouble.

He couldn't help but laugh gently. Yeah, that sounded like her. She seemed to have an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. It was a shame they wouldn't let her explore, imagine the kinds of things she could have learned and discovered...! Just hearing her talk about it, he could imagine how excited she must have been. It almost made him excited just hearing about it. "What kind of stuff did you guys find there?" he asked, curious. Her story had him enthralled.

"Well ....you remember the scroll I showed you back in the swamp? I had venture deeper into the ruins with the man who taught me to read and write celestial. When we found it... we both knew that this was not something to be left out in the open like it was. It also wasn't the best idea to take it back to the library. So I was told to keep it with me at all times, Elliot didn't even trust himself around the scroll. He figured since I was already close with my goddess that I wouldn't be as tempted by it then others would. I have been carrying that scroll for a long time now. I want to keep my promise to Elliot and keep it safe from anyone that would want to unleash a creature from the void into our world." She said softly. She liked to keep her promise.

Fealee wasn't a girl to go back on her word. So if keeping a promise meant that she would have to give up everything, she would do it. Her word meant everything to her. It was how she was able to make so many friends.

He nodded as he listened. He remembered the scroll well, it was one of their early interactions. It felt like forever ago now.... She had mentioned she was to protect it, but now he knew the story behind it. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "He was right to trust you," was all he could say in response. And he meant it. Fealee is honest, loyal, and selfless to a fault. But she's also surprisingly brave, and uses her courage to stick by what's right. Her ties to the Wild Mother only accentuated that.

The amount of people began to thin as they were walking further away from the masquerade. Soon, they were some of the only people on the street. They rounded a corner and the Isilmoon inn came into view. It seemed quiet, despite being a tavern... but of course, that's because everyone was at the masquerade.

When they reached the front of the tavern, Fealee leaned up and kissed zevryn's cheek. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to drop this off in my room. I won't be long." she gave his hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go.

She gave him one last look before disappearing into the inn, away from his view.

He reluctantly let her go. He watched her glide through the door and cast him one more look --- by the gods, just that little glance was enough to make his heart stop for a moment.

The door swung shut behind her. Then, It almost felt like he teleported. Before he even knew what he was doing, he found himself striding across the quiet tavern towards the stairs. Gods, what was he doing? But he couldn't stop himself. His heart was racing. His feet carried him towards her.

Fealee had just made it up the stairs and was walking down the hall when she heard footsteps behind her. She stopped and turned around. Seeing Zevryn quickly making his way over to her, she slowed down her pace to a stand still and waited on him.

"Zevryn? Is everything alright?" She asked as he got closer.

He could still hear his own heart thrumming in his ears as he closed the distance between them. He didn't even bother fighting it anymore, he just gave in and let his body move on its own. As soon as she was within reach he reached out and took a hold of her. He closed the gap in a fluid motion and drew himself in for a slow, hungry kiss. He pulled away just enough to rumble breathily, "I don't want to go back out there."

Fealee let out a squeal in surprise ask he kissed her. Her breathing was heavy and ragged when he pulled back to speak. "What... what do you want, then?" She asked curiously. What in the world brought all this on all of a sudden? Not that she didn't like seeing this side of him every now and again. He was always so gentle with her and what she wanted. It was nice to see him go after what he wanted.

_Want..._ A heat bubbled up inside of him and he felt a pang of pain - that familiar pain, the one that felt good. The one that told him that what he wanted was more. He tried to steady his breathing. He kept one arm around her, but with the other, he gently lifted her hand. He gave her hand a quick kiss before pressing it to his cheek. He stared into her eyes. "I want _you."_

His reply took her by surprise. She raised a eyebrow. Didn't he already have her? Maybe he needed reassurance. "I'm... already yours, love. But... I want you just as much... as you want me," she whispered softly.

She gently ran her thumb over his cheek, being careful to not scrape her finger against the edge of his scales. She could feel herself struggling a little to expand out against the tight bodice of her dress since she could feel every movement of his hand through the thin material of her dress as he held her.

Her answer was the only thing he needed to hear. He kissed her again, but this time, it was faster and rougher than before. Without thinking, he found himself pushing her gently against the wall of the hallway. His hand slid down to her hip, and he leaned the other onto the wall behind her. A small rumble sounded in his throat. Gods, he couldn't get enough of her. He's not sure what brought this desire on so suddenly, but tonight, he had no intention of fighting it.

She let out a gasp in surprise as she felt the rough cool wood of the wall behind her. It was a stark contrast to the heat coming from Zevryn's body in front if her. It sent a shiver up her spine.

Fealee didn't resist his advances. She gave in, letting him take lead. Every little growl and kiss he gave her would wind the little knot of pleasure in her stomach tighter causing her to let out little noises of need and want.

He felt her shiver beneath him and it caused another wave of heat to burn its way up from deep within him. He broke the kiss for a moment and leaned against her, panting. "We sh-should..." he stammered breathlessly, "...room," was all he could choke out. He eased back a little and removed his weight from her, freeing her from her position between him and the wall. He wasn't sure which room was hers, so he planned on letting her lead the way. A little voice in his mind was screaming at him for losing control, _he should have more respect for her, they were in a fucking hallway for Gods' sakes, he should learn to control himself_ \--- but he shoved the nagging thoughts to the back of his mind. It was easy to do so, because those thoughts were overpowered by the echo of her whisper when she said that she wanted him, too. Just recalling her voice in that moment caused a tightness in his chest and a pleasant feeling deep inside him.

Her room... but she was rooming with.... She placed a hand on his chest "Give me a moment." She gave him one more kiss before dashing down and paying for another room before returning to him.

It was only right since she hadn't seen Nymirah at the ball, like she had seen Cosima.

When she left, he leaned onto the wall and took the opportunity to try to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and tried to pull himself together - but not too much. His mind was racing, and it felt like it took her ages to return - even though she had actually moved fairly quickly. He heard her coming up the stairs and opened his eyes again.He pushed himself away from the wall as she approached. Gods, that dress really was something else on her. He savoured the sight of her coming towards him - wet blonde hair, long flowing white dress, and despite the urgency in her step, she still seemed to basically float towards him with grace.

Before he could even think of changing his mind she took his hand and lead him up another flight of stairs. Reaching the room she was given she opened the door and pulled him inside behind her.

He happily reached for her hand and followed her up the stairs. Everything felt like a dream right now, he mused. Aside from a bit of mud on his pants, he was cleaner than he'd ever been. He was in a city that was meant to be vanished. In the midst of a happy celebration. In a quiet inn. And he was wearing fancy clothes. And Fealee was too unearthly beautiful to possibly be real, yet her hand in his felt more real than anything ever had. She pulled him into the room, and he was barely able to close the door behind him before he practically pounced her again.

He was still holding her hand, so he reeled her in. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. He marveled at how soft the dress was, but moreso he was hungry for the warmth of her skin he could feel through the dress. Now that they were in the privacy of a room, whatever barriers he had left came crashing down. He kissed her with a renewed vigor.

Any and all thought of who she was trying to distance them from was long gone after he started his assault on her lips and senses. She could feel the wet bundle of clothes she had still in her arms fall to the floor with a thunk.

She hungrily replied back to his advances. Small little moans and grunts of need ripped through her as the knot of pleasure that had been building in her core coiled tighter. She could feel her legs start to shake. She wrapped her arms around him to keep herself from collapsing from pleasure

In the dark of the tavern room, all she could think of was how much she needed him.

Her ferocity matched his, and the feelings stirring within him were so intense he thought he might just melt away into nothing at her touch. Every little sound she made drove Zevryn closer to the brink. He found himself supporting most of her weight, so he pressed her even more against his feverishly warm body. It quickly became apparent that he wasn't focused enough on standing to support both of their weight - so he spun them a little, and with a grunt he pushed her up against the wall again, like he had in the hallway.

He trailed hungry kisses down her jaw and along the scales on her neck. One of his arms kept them steady against the wall, the other was now trying to wind its way between her and the wall and tugging at the lacing on her dress.

Fealee's mind felt like it was going into a haze. Now that her dress felt looser from Zevryn's quick work on his decent lace up job from before, she felt like she was able to breath properly. Her chest not feeling constricted by the dress and bodice. Taking his lead, Fealee began to work on getting him out of his own constricting clothing.

Every once in a while she would let out a breathy gasp as she felt his teeth gently scrape at her white flesh as she worked on getting the fancy jacket off of him. Once she had got the last god damned button undone Fealee started to peel the jacket off of him and tossed it to the floor before working on getting the rest off of him.

He tried his best to help her along by doing what he could to shrug his jacket off with her guidance. However, he was a bit distracted keeping his own hands busy with her. Now that her bodice was at least loose, he tugged haphazardly at the lacing, pulling it right out of the eyelets, until gravity took her dress away on its own.

He growled softly. He trailed kisses down her collar bone then back up her throat, then jaw, and finally met her mouth again. He tried to leave just enough space between them that she could continue to fumble with the clean, white shirt he had been wearing under the jacket. Now that he was finished dealing with her dress, his hand slid down her waist, past her hips, and hooked her soft thigh in a firm grasp. He heaved her up and pressed himself forward against her. She really was pinned now, between him and the wall, with his strong arms keeping her from falling.

Finally ridding him of the shirt, Fealee was able to feel his skin against her own and it was a marvelous feeling. She hooked her legs around his waist. She ran her hands up his chest, being careful not to brush them over the large scar - not wanting him to pull out of the moment. She wound her arms around his shoulders and pressed her body as close as she could to his own.

She pulled back from the kiss and started her own adventure of his skin. Kissing her way down his jawline, nipping and gently pressing her teeth into his neck and shoulder.

He welcomed the feeling of her skin against his. Gods, he didn't realize how bad he had been ~~wanting~~ needing this; needing _her_. She was a little more stable now that her legs were wrapped around him, so he was able to free one of his hands from her thighs and start his own exploration of her soft, pale skin.

Her teeth on his neck was a pleasant surprise he hadn't been expecting, and he couldn't quell the moan that rumbled out of him. He slid his free hand gently up her shoulder, up the back of her neck, and rested it on the back of her head as if to encourage the behaviour. His other hand on her thigh was a little less gentle - it twitched a little, and the added pressure caused his claw-like nails to dig slightly into her flesh.

His breathing was ragged. He wasn't even fighting to control it. He was too far gone. This time was much different than the time in the catacombs - there, despite his poor impulse control, he had somewhat managed to occasionally get his wits back. Here, there was no such distractions. They were in a private room, with actual walls, instead of a thin canvas tent. They were not surrounded by tunnels full of undead. They weren't exhausted, or hungry, or brooding.... no, there was nothing either of them could possibly be worrying about this time. This moment was just them, alone together, in what could very well be their first truly private moment. Be damned if he was foolish enough to miss this opportunity.

_"Ah, fuck,"_ he rumbled huskily in draconic. He hooked his other hand back around her leg and pulled her away from the wall. He spun and hastily carried her towards the bed. He practically dropped her on it, pulling himself along, releasing her thighs just soon enough to prop himself up without crashing into her. Zevryn stared down at Fealee beneath him for a moment.

With what little moon light had been coming through, fealee's white and gold skin was on full display for his eyes to feast on. The bright gold scales that he had seen on her back had made their way to her side, and to her front. They had then crept their way up her belly to where they had started to cover up half of her breast.

He wanted to look her up and down, to take in her form and memorize this moment, but he was too enraptured by her clear blue eyes - he couldn't break his gaze away from them. He pressed himself against her and whispered, "Fuck, I want you." Before locking his mouth on hers for another deep, passionate kiss. She felt a shiver run up her spine at his possessive confession.

She left out a small animal like whine of need into the passionate kiss as she hungrily returned it. She arched her back up and pressed her body more against his. She let out a little growl as she moved her hands over his body once again exploring ever inching that she could find that wasn't still covered by his clothes.

He slid his hand down her scaled side. He didn't yet process how far they had spread, even though he had seen them, and could feel them beneath his rough palm. It would probably sink in later. But for now, that didn't matter, anyway. The only thing that mattered to him right now was how close she was - and how much closer yet he craved her to be.

With every little sound she made and every little shiver and tremble, he felt desire knot more heavily inside him. He wasn't sure how much more of the feeling he could take. He trembled a little himself, in nervous excitement. He began trailing kisses down her torso - he had no shyness when exploring her skin and her scales with his mouth.

He eventually made his way back up to her neck. He paused in his assault to try to catch his ragged breath. He refused to let the moment hang, however. He didn't allow himself time to think. He didn't want to think. Trembling, he grasped her hand and pulled it to the waist of his pants.

"I love you," he half-growled, half-whimpered.

Feeling him tremble, she leaned up and captured his lips once again as she helped him get rid of the garment. "And I love you," she said, her voice shaking, "and I will never regret falling in love with you." Her voice was soft and gentle before claiming his lips with her own again, hungrily.

That was all he needed to hear.

In the warm evening, in the dark of that small inn in the middle of a city that shouldn't exist, Fealee deepened her bond with her mate, physically showing him how much she loved and adored him. He meant the world to her. He showed her gentle kindness and protection in the month that she had grown to know him. It made the fear of what she believed the ki-rin had asked of her all the more terrifying. She could not part herself from him. To be with out her sun would mean that she would wither and die, like a flower kept in the dark.

When the two of them were exhausted and laying in a tangled mess of limbs and sweat drenched skin, she held him close. She was afraid that in the morning she would wake up and find herself laying in her bed with his other two companions in the room, and that this moment between them would all be a dream. And just as her eyes began to grow heavy with sleep she opened her mouth and spoke gently in her native tongue

_"You are the greatest and most wonderful thing the Wild Mother has given me. I will treasure you till my last dying breath."_

**Author's Note:**

> About half way through, Zevryn rolled extremely poorly on a wisdom save against his own rational thoughts.


End file.
